Britain's FTSE rebounds thanks to strong China data

Britain's FTSE rebounds thanks to strong China data

* FTSE 100 up 0.7 pct, recovering after recent falls * Chinese data boosts sentiment * Implied FTSE volatility retreats from 1-month high By Toni Vorobyova LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 rebounded on Friday, bolstered by heavyweight miners and energy stocks after forecast-beating Chinese trade data fanned confidence in the global economic recovery. China's exports and imports surged more than expected in January, pointing both to stronger domestic demand and to a recovery in the world economy as a whole. The data prompted investors to take advantage of this week's equities retreat to snap up miners - for whom China is a key market - at cheaper levels. The sector added 0.7 percent , led by Chilean copper miner Antofagasta. The broader improvement in sentiment also boosted banks after steep falls earlier in the week. "Banks and miners are the core interest markets when things are ticking better ... It's largely on the back of the Chinese data and the Asian rally overnight," said Matt Basi, head sales trader at CMC Markets. "People took some risk off the table through shorts yesterday and there is a bit of short covering going on." The FTSE 100 was up 38.11 points, or 0.6 percent, at 6,266.53 points by 0845 GMT, recouping some of the previous session's 1.1 percent drop. "The 6,300 becomes a key level in the FTSE again. That has been a bit of a technical buffer recently, both as support and as resistance, so if we close above that it would be quite a positive finish to the week," Basi said. However, the gains looked unlikely to prevent the UK index from posting its first weekly loss of 2013, following a rally to a 4-1/2 year peak of 6,354.46 last week. "The FTSE 100 index is consolidating within a strong up-trend," technical analysts at Westhouse said in a note, highlighting support at 6,175 points - the trendline from the start of the rally in mid-November. Vodafone offered the biggest single stock support to the FTSE 100, up 1.9 percent after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded it to 'buy' seeing several positive outcomes for its 45 percent holding in Verizon Wireless and noting the shares' recent underperformance versus the broad UK index. In a sign of improved investor confidence, the implied volatility on the FTSE 100 fell 7 percent, retreating from Thursday's one-month high. There was also positive news from Europe, with EU leaders agreeing the framework for a new long-term budget on Friday after 15 hours of intense negotiations. (Reporting By Toni Vorobyova; Editing by John Stonestreet)